Harry Houdini - Queens, NY
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 40° 41.608 W 073° 53.084
18T E 594230 N 4505327
Grave of magician and world-renowned escape artist Harry Houdini in New York City.
Waymark Code: WM15KYY
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 01/18/2022
Views: 7
"The greatest escape I ever made was when I left Appleton, Wisconsin."
- Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was born in Budapest, Hungary but often claimed he was from Appleton, Wisconsin where he grew up. In spite of the above disparaging remark, the town of Appleton is proud of their hometown celebrity having established a “Houdini Plaza” near the spot where he lived in downtown Appleton. They also maintain an extensive Houdini exhibit at the local History Museum, also located in the downtown area.
Born Erik Weisz in 1874, Houdini immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of five. The family settled in Appleton where his father served as Rabbi for a local Jewish congregation. Eventually, the family moved to Milwaukee then to New York City. The young Erik Weisz became fascinated with showmanship, especially magic, and attempted to pursue a career as a magician. He assumed the stage name Houdini which he derived from the great French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. But it was his skill as an escape artist that eventually propelled him to the world stage.
Over his career, Houdini escaped from handcuffs, jail cells, straightjackets, nailed-shut packing crates and locked water-filled tanks. His most famous act was dubbed the “Chinese Water Torture Cell.” This escape involved being chained and suspended upside-down in a glass, water-filled container requiring him to hold his breath for over three minutes while he picked the various locks.
Harry Houdini’s success as an escape artist made him a wealthy man which allowed him to pursue other interests such as aviation and the movies. He died of a ruptured appendix in 1926 at the age of 52.
(Sources: wikipedia.com, biography.com.)
Description:
Houdini’s gravesite is located in Machpelah Cemetery in Queens, New York. Besides Harry, other members of the Weiss family are buried there. Although the name of Houdini’s wife and life-long assistant Wilhelmina is inscribed on his grave marker, she is not actually buried here. Because she was not Jewish, she was not allowed to be buried next to her husband and is interred in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester County.
Date of birth: 03/24/1874
Date of death: 10/31/1926
Area of notoriety: Entertainment
Marker Type: Horizontal Marker
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm (closed Saturdays)
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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